Biography

TRANSWESTERN ROLE

Mike Watts serves as president of Transwestern’s Midwest team, headquartered in Chicago. In this role, he provides leadership to all of the team’s service lines in the Midwest, with a particular focus on establishing strategies to maximize client satisfaction, develop new business, and expand the region. Mike is also responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management, financial planning and marketing of the firm’s Chicago and Midwest offices.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Mike has a distinguished 25-plus year career in real estate, where he has established deep relationships with owners, occupiers and real estate professionals active in the Midwest real estate community. He has significant experience in new business development, establishing and implementing targeted client-centric strategies and adding value to some of Chicago’s most recognizable real estate.
 
He joined Transwestern from J.F. McKinney and Associates, where he served on the firm’s management committee and was responsible for new business development and client service.  While there, Mike oversaw the leasing and marketing of the 1.5 million square foot Hyatt Center development, and the repositioning of several large projects for clients including Bank of America, BP Amoco, Bank One, G.E. Investments and Lehman Brothers. He led many large downtown transactions including those for Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, Aon and Morningstar. Previously, Mike served at LaSalle Partners (now JLL) as the downtown regional leasing director where he led a team responsible for leasing urban office projects.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION / RECOGNITION

Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40”
Chicago Food Depositor Real Estate Award – Broker of the Year in 2002 and 2005

EDUCATION

Mike received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.